The scientific reason why McDonald's Coke 'tastes better than anywhere else'
Rachael Davis
Featured Image Credit: Stanislav Palamar/Getty Images
You’ll already know that Coca-Cola tastes slightly different depending on its receptacle. The elite class is reserved for the glass bottles, while the plastic bottles over-carbonation can make it taste ever so slightly more bitter.
Cans of the stuff sit somewhere in the middle, but the super-elite is occupied exclusively by Coca-Cola from a McDonald’s tap.
According to one scientist, this little cola curiosity isn’t just in our heads, there’s some logic to back the claim.
Abby Thiel, the food scientist in question, explained to Parade that there’s a very good reason why people tend to have a preference for McDonald’s draught Coca-Cola.
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“Soft drink producers will usually have their own water supplier or a filtration system to increase the quality of water,” she said.
“Most often, chlorine is removed as it can result in a ‘disinfectant’ taste, the water hardness will be adjusted since it affects the acidity of the drink, and iron will be removed to limit colour and flavour defects.
“Without this treatment, the end result is a Coke that has off-flavours and aromas due to low-quality, inconsistent water.”
McDonald’s has previously explained that it follows the guidelines set by the Coca-Cola Company and ‘take steps to ensure that it serves a high-quality fountain beverage’.
“The water and Coca-Cola® syrup are pre-chilled before entering our fountain dispensers with the ratio of syrup set to allow for ice to melt,” the fast food giant explained.
“We also keep our fountain beverage system cold so your drink is always refreshing. In order to ensure our drinks are always meeting a gold standard, we filter all the water before it enters fountain dispensers.”
There’s another essential reason why the Coca-Cola, and other soft drinks, tends to be a little tastier from one of these taps.
The syrup and water and mixed at the point of pouring, and it seems that the ratio towards syrup may be slightly higher from the tap than at the canning plant. McDonald’s says this is to account for the ice which dilutes the flavour as it melts.
So there you have it: if you want the fullest Coca-Cola flavour, a McDonald’s tap is the best place to get it.